Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter

One of my favorite cold-weather soups – green lentils (or split peas), topped with a curried brown butter drizzle, and pan-fried paneer cubes. Some of you might recognize it from Super Natural Every Day.

It’s a soup I revisit often, and these photos are outtakes of it that ran in an early issue of Kinfolk magazine. I did a short little essay about winter (volume two!), and it ran alongside with some pictures Wayne and I contributed.

Here’s the deal. The magic here is the curried brown butter drizzle. Don’t skip it. Also, a good chunk of hearty sourdough really elevates the whole experience. Or! Some good naan or paratha.

You can certainly explore a vegan version though. You could infuse some olive oil or coconut oil with spices, and brown some tofu in place of paneer. A different beast, but also really good. Not brown butter good on the flavor front, but still good. 😉
I also want to note there are some great variation ideas down in the comments.